May 24, 2016
At 20:10 Universal Time (2:10 p.m. local time) on May 24, 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a natural-color image of fires that continued to burn in Canada’s Alberta and Saskatchewan provinces. Red outlines indicate hot spots where MODIS detected warm surface temperatures associated with fires. Thick plumes of smoke were blowing northward.
When this image was acquired, the Fort McMurray fire remained out of control and was burning under high to extreme fire conditions. The fire had already consumed 5,229 square kilometers (2019 square miles).
References & Resources
- Alberta Government (2016, May 24) Update 23: 2016 Wildfires (May 24 at 2:30 p.m.) Accessed May 25, 2016.
- CBC News (2016, May 24) Alberta rallies international help for Fort McMurray wildfires. Accessed May 25, 2016.
NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response . Caption by Kathryn Hansen.
